Special election held for Blythe mayor, council member

BLYTHE, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Blythe voters decided on a successor to the recently resigned mayor as well as a City Council member.

The Richmond County Board of Elections scheduled a March 21 special election for the posts in the 774-person town.

With 121 votes, Tom Cobb has been elected as the new mayor. Edward LaJoie had 68 votes.

For the council member position, Rebecca Bartlett Newsome was elected with 83 votes. Mike Rineer finished with 70, and Phillip Lee Stewart finished with 35 votes.

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Mayor Curt St. Germaine resigned and Councilman Edward LaJoie also resigned.

In a resignation letter posted on Facebook, St. Germaine said he was “stepping down for personal reasons and wish the city all the best in the future.”

However, in a post accompanying a photo of the letter, he took aim at City Council members.

“It is with a heavy heart that I have resigned from the office of Mayor,” he said in Thursday’s post. “Last night was a perfect example of council members should not bring their personal agenda to a meeting. City Council voted 3 to 2. Councilman LaJoie and myself voted to keep our lawyer while the others voted to fire our city attorney because of their personal reasons.”

He urged voters to “do your research before voting” and to check how council members have voted on issues in the past.

“Don’t vote for someone because you know them,” he said.

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